This Is a Book of Shapes

Shapes with a solid color, wood-grain texture are featured in the beginning of this book with simple accompanying text (”This is a circle,” or “This is a triangle”), and then more sporadically throughout as surprising interruptions sneak in, creating a quirky and unique departure from your average book about shapes. After three shapes, the title of this book is proven to be misleading, as the next page features “an emu pushing a pancake wagon down a hill.” A few more shapes are shared before another interjection of “a porpoise reading a book of knock-knock jokes to three silly sea turtles.” After a few more repetitions of shapes and a surprise, the last page shows a compilation of every illustration and shape from the book—possibly a commentary on how everything in life is made up of shapes, but possibly just another stroke of randomness. Kraegel sneaks in a sly sense of humor with unanticipated inclusions of silly pages amidst what would be a basic, and probably boring, book of shapes. For readers actually seeking a book about shapes, this title may disappoint, but it otherwise provides a breath of fresh air and unexpected chuckles (though laughs are dependent on a certain type of humor).